


The dead are hungry and the living are gone

by UnumChuchi



Series: Clexa pride week 2020 [5]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Also a bit of comedy, Clarke is a useless bisexual, Clexa Pride Week, Clexa Pride Week 2020, Day 6, F/F, Happy Ending, I mean, Lexa is a useless lesbian, Light Angst, Zombie AU, mention of death characters, there are zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24929707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnumChuchi/pseuds/UnumChuchi
Summary: When Clarke was younger, she used to read a book that had one of her favorites quotes: ‘The dead are gone. The living are hungry.’ She always thought it was a powerful quote even if she couldn’t truly understand the meaning. Now she can understand it, however, it had lost all the meaning. In the new word, the dead are hungry and the living are gone.And she was alone.Well, maybe that wasn’t completely accurate.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Series: Clexa pride week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800268
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	The dead are hungry and the living are gone

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, English isn't my first language, sorry if I make some mistakes.  
> I don't know why I wrote this when I don't usually like zombies, but I spent a surprisingly good time writing it. I hope you like it!!

When Clarke was younger, she used to read a book that had one of her favorites quotes: _‘The dead are gone. The living are hungry.’_ She always thought it was a powerful quote even if she couldn’t truly understand the meaning. Now she can understand it, however, it had lost all the meaning. In the new word, the dead are hungry and the living are gone.

And she was alone.

Well, maybe that wasn’t completely accurate.

After crossing the street, Clarke saw the putrid corpse of a man walking toward her. The girl sighed and held tighter her gun. It had been a calm day but, of course, she couldn’t have a day without finding a zombie. At least, this was alone. A week ago, she had the bad luck of entering a supermarket where she found a dozen of those creatures. It was easy to deal with one.

Knowing that she didn’t have a lot of bullets, Clarke decided to run, leaving the gun as her last option. Although the zombie tried to follow her, it was slower than her and soon she left it behind. However, she didn’t relax; you could never know when you would run across another. In fact, it had been months since the last time she felt relaxed. It was difficult to relax when you were alone. When you ran away from the corpses with the face of your father and best friend.

A scream pulled her away from her depressing thoughts. Although it was always a bad idea going to the direction where someone was yelling, Clarke couldn’t stop to care. It was late, a couple of hours away from the night, and she should be looking for a refuge. However, that voice sounded like a kid. An alive kid. And maybe she had failed in her attempts of saving her family and friends, but she won’t give up. Not yet.

As she thought, the scream came from a blonde kid that couldn’t have more than twelve years. He was holding a knife that wasn’t really helping him against a dozen of zombies. If he wasn’t already dead was probably because a woman standing next to him. Although the distance, Clarke could saw the white scars on her face that stood out on her dark skin and made her look a warrior. A warrior fighting with a bat, but a warrior after all.

Even though neither of them seemed to have been bitten, that could easily change. Attracted by the noises, there were more zombies coming toward them. And toward herself, that was still there, frozen.

Conscient that those strangers only needed a distraction, Clarke looked around her, searching for something she could use. Something big enough to catch the attention of all the zombies. She was in the middle of a street, with nothing more than closed houses and some cars. Cars…

Not thinking that this would probably kill her, Clarke ran to the closest car. Not far from her, the two strangers were surrounded now by almost two dozen zombies. They were fighting so, with some luck, it wasn’t too late for them. With all her strength, Clarke hit the window of the car with her gun until it crashed. Then, it started sounding the alarm.

The good side was that her plan had worked and the zombies began walking toward her and the car. The bad side was exactly the same. Without looking if the kid and the woman had escaped, Clarke ran in the opposite direction. She should be more afraid, however, somewhat she only felt proud for doing something good for once. For saving someone instead of killing or running away.

Clarke ran through the streets although she knew that she was going to lose. The alarm of the car had awakened more zombies than she had predicted and there were too many of them going after her. But she kept running and, when she felt to the ground, she stood up again. She ran without direction, her lungs burnings and her legs shaking, not ready to give up. And then, a miracle appeared in the form of a girl. A hot girl with a fucking sword.

“Hey, you!” Shouted the stranger while she cut the head of a zombie that stepped too close to her. She was in front of an open door of a house as if she wanted that Clarke followed inside.

Without anything else to lose, Clarke ignored every precaution and ran into the house. She barely collapsed when the girl closed the door. Although Clarke just wanted to lay down, the stranger had other plans. She pulled her upstairs until they reached a bedroom. Only when they entered and she closed the door again, she stopped.

Clarke had a lot of questions, but she was so tired that she collapsed into the only bed of the room. For the number of toys on the shelves, it seemed to be the room of a kid. A beautiful room of a more than a probably dead kid.

“Are you okay?” Asked the girl, snapping Clarke away from her thoughts. There was some concern on her green eyes that didn’t disappear when Clarke nodded. “Had you been beaten?”

Honestly, that was a good question that Clarke should have asked too to the pretty stranger. “No,” she muttered. Her voice didn’t sound firm, she was still recovering her breath.

“Can I check it? It’s not that I don’t trust you, but we had some awful experiences and I prefer to be cautious.”

Bitting back her curiosity of asking what she meant with ‘we’, Clarke nodded.

While the girl searched, Clarke took advantage of their proximity to looked at her. Besides being the prettiest person she had seen in the last months (and considering that she had only met zombies, that was easy), she seemed to be strong, her muscles marked under her shirt. With her brunette hair up on several braids, she wore black paint on her face that made her green eyes shining, even though that wasn’t probably her intention.

“Okay, you seem to be clean,” she accepted after a minute, relieved. “Sorry about that.”

Clarke shrugged, not willing to admit that her checking was the closet contact she had since the death of her father. And it only caused her to realized how much she missed it.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. By the way, I’m Clarke. You?”

Maybe that wasn’t the fanciest introduction, but it was allowed in an apocalypse. Something good of the end of the word, right?

“Lexa, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Clarke,” she said, formal and extending her hand.

They did what Clarke never thought it would happen again: they shook hands. 

“So, hum…” Began the blonde once she released her hand. “Thanks for saving me, I guess?”

Lexa nodded with a small smile. “Actually, it should be me who thank you. If it weren’t for you, Aden and Indra would have died.”

She needed some seconds to understand that Lexa was talking about the kid and the woman. Meanwhile, the brunette walked toward the only window of the room and looked down at the street. Clarke stood up and turned, following the direction of her eyes to find that get out of the house would be a bad idea. Some of the zombies that had followed them were now hitting the front door. They were trapped inside the house.

An optimistic person could say that their situation was only pretty bad. Maybe some months ago Clarke would have thought that. Now, she was sure that they were fucked. However, Lexa seemed to be calm, as if instead of zombies trying to eat them, in front of the house were a group of nice neighbors.

“I think we should stay here until they get distracted for something else,” said Lexa, impassive.

“Then we’ll probably sleep here,” pointed Clarke. She didn’t want to be pessimistic, but those zombies were too focused on the door. “We should check the house.”

“Yeah, you are right. It should be clean but better be safe than sorry.”

Okay, that was strange coming for a person who had checked her before asking her name. “How are you so sure?”

“We came here earlier. This was Aden’s house,” she added seeing Clarke’s confused expression. “We took some supplies and check that his parents were, you know, completely dead. They are on their bedroom, I recommend you avoid that room,” she explained, lowering her voice. For a brief moment, she seemed vulnerable, but she quickly overcame it.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that was… awful.” Awful wasn’t the exact word to define it, that situation must have been worse than awful. “You… You knew them?”

“No, I only know Aden for a couple of weeks. And he had been all this time traveling across the country to come back,” she sighed.

“Ugh, that’s…” She shook her head, unable to find the words. “Well, I’m going to check the house. Just in case.”

“Good idea. I’ll contact Indra to tell her that we’ll stay here.”

Before she could ask how Lexa grabbed the backpack she had been carrying all this time and Clarke hasn’t even noticed and took a walkie talkie.

“Indra, It’s Lexa. Do you copy?”

“Lexa! Are you alright? Over,” answered a voice after some seconds, clearly relieved.

“Yes. I’m with Clarke, the girl who saved you. How are you two? Over.”

Clarke doubted between leaving and stay there and listen. She decided for the first option, conscient that she needed some time alone to think about the last events. Before she left the room, she heard Indra’s reply. “We are fine, we managed to escape. Over.”

So… they were fine. Her almost suicidal act had saved them. It had been worth risking her life. She smiled while she walked around the house until she poked her head in the other bedroom where, as she feared, were two figures under a sheet. She closed the door as fast as she could, feeling a bit dizzy for the nauseating smell.

Besides the bedroom, she didn’t find a single corpse on the house. That was good news, it meant that Lexa was being honest. The only bad part was that she didn’t know her intentions. It was a bit suspicious that she had saved her, putting her own life in danger. Well, maybe Clarke had done the same, but Lexa wasn’t alone, she had two people who cared about her. So… Why did she save her?

With more doubts than answers, Clarke returned to Aden’s room. Inside, Lexa had sat down on the floor and was cleaning her sword. When she heard her, the brunette raised her head and stopped.

“It’s everything alright?”

“No, nothing is right. It hadn’t been right since it started a fucking apocalypse,” she replied joking but tensed. “If you talk about the house, yeah, it’s clean.” 

Lexa nodded; her eyes fixed on Clarke’s. “That’s good.”

They stared in silence for almost a minute before Clarke couldn’t handle it anymore. “Let’s be honest, why are you doing this?”

“This?” She raised an eyebrow, somehow looking confused and extremely cute. “Could you explain it a little?”

“Saving me! You are trapped with a stranger in a house when you could be with your friends. Why?”

The brunette didn’t answer immediately. She released her sword and let it on the floor as if she wanted to show that she wasn’t dangerous. “Because if it weren’t for you, Aden and Indra would be dead,” she said, finally. “I was near them, but I didn’t know a way to save them and I was sure they were going to die. And then, you risked your life for them. Why?”

Clarke blinked, taken back. Although Lexa seemed honest, she wasn’t sure if she could trust her. She wanted, but it was difficult… But it didn’t have to be so difficult. Besides her life and health, she didn’t really have anything else to lose. “I heard a kid yelling and I saw them. I just… I couldn’t let them there. I couldn’t have forgiven myself.”

Lexa stared at her; her eyes so fixed on hers as if she was trying to read her mind.

“What about you?” Asked Clarke a bit uncomfortable. “Why did you save me?”

Unlike her, Lexa seemed to meditate her answer without averting their eye contact. “You saved Indra and Aden; I couldn’t let you die if I could avoid it.”

Clarke had the feeling that there was something more, however, she didn’t insist. Not yet, at least.

∞ 

Although they could go anywhere inside the house, they had dinner in the bedroom. They just stood on the floor eating canned food, but it was the best dinner Clarke had in months. Even though it was a bit scary how easy she was feeling comfortable with Lexa’s company, she couldn’t do anything to change it.

While they ate, they talked about everything and nothing. Clarke told her that she loved to draw, that her mother was a doctor and she didn’t even know if she was still alive. For her part, Lexa talked about her cousin Anya and all the years she had been practicing fencing, although she never thought her skills would save her life more than once.

Now that Lexa had cleaned her face from the black paint and they had talked a little, she didn’t seem as dangerous as before. She looked younger, around nineteen, probably a year or two older than Clarke. Unfortunately, erasing the black paint didn’t erase her beauty. If it was possible, Clarke felt even more attracted to her now.

Besides the unnecessary thoughts of how it would be kissing Lexa, Clarke had a good time. The conversation went so easy between them that she forgot for a moment that they were just strangers and they would take separate paths once they were outside. She would probably never meet Lexa again.

The brunette, realizing the change in the mood, stared at Clarke furrowing her bow. “It’s everything alright?”

Clarke nodded, embarrassed. There was no way she would admit it out loud. Besides, deep down, a voice kept remembering that she shouldn’t trust Lexa so easily. It was getting harder and harder listening to that voice when Lexa had done anything suspicious since they arrived at the house, but Clarke had heard some stories. And she knew that not all humans were legit.

“I’m a bit tired,” she said after a long pause, ignoring her desire to trust Lexa and her fear that all of that was a trap.

Lexa didn’t seem to believe her, but instead of insisting, she nodded too. “Yeah, it’s late.” She stood up and began to clean the leftovers from the floor. “You can take the bed; I’ll sleep in the living room.”

“Are you sure? I think we should sleep here, it’s safer and we would be together in case the zombies broke the door.”

She hoped her argument sounded credible. She couldn’t say that she was tired of sleeping alone. All her fears of the possible trap of Lexa were nothing in comparison to her fear of being alone.

Although Lexa looked insecure, she ended accepting. “Okay. Anyway, you can take the bed. I’ll take some pillows and sheets from the living room.”

That would mean that Lexa was going to be more uncomfortable, however, Clarke didn’t say anything. A part of her felt a bit guilty while another part of her wanted to comment that there was enough space on the bed. She ignored both parts.

Together, they finished cleaning the floor and prepared Lexa’s ‘bed’. Only when it seemed comfy enough, Clarke lay down on her bed. Well, Aden’s bed. Although the pistol under the pillow, it was the most comfortable place she had slept in a loooong time. Soon, she started feeling sleepy.

“Good night, Lexa,” she muttered.

“Good night, Clarke.”

Clarke closed her eyes wondering if Lexa would still there when she woke up.

∞ 

Staring at the ceiling, Lexa asked herself for the hundredth time why she was there. Although she had a good reason to save Clarke, she didn’t have one to stay. Maybe there was a group of zombies on the front door, but she could easily use a window to get out. But no, she had decided to stay all night.

Unable to fall sleep, Lexa rolled over her improvised bed. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to deny it; if she was there was because of her curiosity for Clare. Since Indra and Aden were alive thanks to her, she had owed her giving her a hand. Then, she wanted to know why she saved two strangers. Later, Lexa was just curious. There was something in Clarke she couldn’t define, something that made Lexa want to be with her. To trust her.

Although she was distracted, she jumped out of her bed when she heard Clarke’s yelling. Her first instinct was to grab her sword, but there wasn’t anyone besides them in the room. 

Unharmed, Lexa sat down on the bed next to Clarke, who had also sat and was now hugging her legs. The brunette doubted, but realizing that the girl was sobbing, she placed her hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” she whispered. “It’s okay, it was just a dream.”

Clarke raised her head and for a moment, although the room was in darkness, Lexa saw she was crying. Before she could add something else, the blonde suddenly hugged her. Hesitating, Lexa wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer.

During the next minutes, the only sound was the sobs of Clarke and the whispers of Lexa saying that everything was okay or that she was safe. Slowly, the blonde stopped shaking, but she didn’t do any attempt of moving away. Neither Lexa.

“I’m sorry,” babbled Clarke after a while.

“Don’t worry,” she muttered, softly. “I was awake. Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, unsure. When she had a nightmare, she was used to pretend it didn’t happen, but Clarke made her act different.

She wasn’t sure if the blonde nodded or not because her head was buried on the crock of her neck. “I dreamt with my father and best friend,” her voice sounded broken. “I was with them when the apocalypse started and we managed to survive for months. Until… Until one night they were bitten. I ran, Lexa. They tried to eat me and I just ran.”

With the last word, her voice broke in a sob. Lexa tightened her grip, wishing she could take her pain away.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Careful, she thought the next words, conscient that she could make it worse. “I wasn’t there and I didn’t know your father and friend, but I think they loved you and wanted you to be happy. Or as happy as anyone can be now. So… I don’t think they wanted you to finish their lives. They wouldn’t want you to carry that weight.”

Still in her arms, Clarke tensed a little. However, she didn’t push her away and that was a good sign. “Do you truly believe it?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

It sounded so sad and broken that Lexa tightened her grip. “Yes, I mean it.”

They were in silence for the next minutes until Lexa began without knowing why. She hadn’t talked about that with anyone. “I lost someone too some months ago,” she muttered. “Her name was Costia, she was my girlfriend and… I couldn’t save her when she was captured. Their leader sent me back her head.”

Clarke pulled herself away to looked at her. She wasn’t crying anymore, but her cheeks were wet because of her dried tears. “Her head?” She asked, horrified. “She was… killed?”

Lexa sighed. They have arrived at the point of no return and she had two choices. She could lie or say only a part of truth instead of the full story. She had to decide if she trusted her or not… Even if since the beginning she knew that she didn’t have a choice. There was something inside of her that pushed her to trust Clarke.

“I’m part of a community. We had been building a safe place where we can live without zombies,” she explained. “Slowly, we grew up, but some months ago a woman called Nia decided to do a revolution. She wanted to be the new leader. She… killed Costia and more people until I stopped her.”

After Lexa finished, they got into an awkward silence. Clarke’s expression was weird, a mix of emotions, confusion above the rest, but also empathy and fear. She looked so lost that Lexa regretted being so honest. However, if she wanted to trust her and be trusted by her, they needed that honestly.

“Why are you telling me that?” Finally asked Clarke.

That was a very good question with so many answers. Lexa bit her lip, hesitating between all the possibilities. Clarke's reaction would depend on what she heard, so Lexa should think carefully. “Because you caught my attention. At first, it was curiosity about why someone would put her life in danger for some stranger. But I was also interested in your plan: You saved Indra and Aden and in other circumstances, you could have survived on your own. So, besides being in debt with you, I wanted to know more about you.”

Although Lexa hoped that Clarke would interrupt her, the girl stood in silence paying attention to her words, probably trying to see the truth on them.

“Those are mainly the reasons I wanted to know you better,” she continued, acting less nervous than she felt. “Especially because, if you want, I could show you our community.” 

Lexa kept waiting for a reply that never came. In the end, she sighed, disappointed. “You don’t have to answer right now, but I need you to make a choice before we leave the house.”

∞ 

After their conversation, Clarke was unable to fall asleep again. Lexa’s words kept coming to her mind. There was a community outside? She could live in the same place for more than two days? She could be with more people? She would have a chance to spend more time with Lexa? It sounded too good to be true. Yeah, it had the bad side of the woman who tried to make a revolution and killed some people, but even that part didn’t sound so bad as the solitude and constant fear.

The problem there was that Clarke couldn’t know if Lexa had been completely honest. Although she seemed sincere, she could be a perfect liar and everything was a plan to… A plan for what? If Lexa wanted her dead, she would have been killed while she was sleeping. Unless that Lexa wanted her alive to… To what? Once again, Clarke couldn’t find a logical reason. Besides, Lexa had been empathetic in a way that Clarke didn’t know she needed.

Clarke rolled to lay on her side. In that position, she could see Lexa’s body. Like her, the girl didn’t seem to be asleep. Looking at her, Clarke arrived at the disastrous conclusion that she wanted to trust her. She wanted to believe that, even in their terrible word, not everyone had bad intentions. She was tired of doing anything else than surviving. Life should be about more than just surviving.

When the morning arrived, Clarke stood up and extended her hand to Lexa. The girl, at first a bit confused, took it.

“I’ll go with you,” said Clarke, ignoring her fears and following her instinct that was pulling her to trust Lexa.

The brunette smiled for a second in a gesture that seemed genuine. She really looked happy. “I’m glad to hear that, Clarke.”

Clarke nodded, taking a deep breath, ready for whatever that would happen later.


End file.
